Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

NUT Conference Motion on Workload

NUT Associations can submit motions for 2012 Annual Conference at a quorate General Meeting held on or before November 15. Please consider passing the following motion on workload:

Conference notes that despite the promises made at the time of the ‘workload agreement’, excessive workload, both in terms of overall hours and the intensity of work within those hours, is becoming worse, not better. This is in clear breach of the “commitment to secure downward pressure on excessive hours” contained in the Pay and Conditions Document.

Conference fears that the government's cuts programme, the so-called ‘standards agenda’ and further attacks such as the worsening of performance management arrangements, will all contribute to a further deterioration in levels of workload and stress.

Conference notes the motions and policies agreed at previous annual conferences recognising that alongside defending pay, pensions, opposing cuts and the expansion of Academies and Free Schools, tackling excessive teacher workload and the resulting stress must remain one of the key objectives of the union.

Conference recognises that the Union has acted on Conference policy by:

(i)drawing-up a model work-life balance policy;

(ii)highlighting key workload objectives in union publications.

(iii)developing a model contract setting out the union’s workload objectives

However, Conference recognises that the Union has to develop a far more effective strategy to make sure that these policies and objectives are implemented in practice. Conference therefore instructs the Executive to draw up an action strategy for implementation over the coming year, which should include:

a)highlighting the union’s support for school groups wishing to ballot for action where negotiation has failed to resolve workload issues;

b)seeking to coordinate ballots across schools where possible;

c)seeking to identify key workload issues which could provide the focus for wider campaigns, up to and including national ballots for both non-strike sanctions and strike action to secure concrete gains around these issues;

d)approaching other teacher unions to seek to develop a united action strategy;

e)holding regional reps briefings to energise and make effective such a workload campaign, alongside the other key campaigns being conducted by the Union.

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays